I’d like to introduce the world to Ellen Elizabeth Benes, who said “Hi” to Cathy, my wife, and me on Wednesday morning at 7:52. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 5 oz, and stretched 18 1/2 inches.

As you can see from the picture, Ellen’s healthy, full of color and has a good amount of hair (YEAH!) … and believe me when I say she has a booming voice!

Till next week…Rob

The guidelines are pretty simple. The AHA says, “Children 2 and older should eat mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and non-fat dairy products, beans, fish, and lean meat.” And the only way children will adhere to these guidelines is if parents take the lead and provide these foods to their children.

The new recommendations for infants, children and adolescents revise the AHA’s 1982 statement. Since then, more and more children have been falling into the overweight or obese category. The updated guidelines, which are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, also recommend children 2 and older get an hour of exercise a day.

The AHA also notes by the time kids are 19 to 24 months, French fries are the most commonly eaten vegetable. Jars of baby food packed with fruits and vegetables give way to solid foods, and nutritious food is often bypassed for whatever is easiest.

The AHA’s guidelines urge parents not to give up if their kids at first reject healthy food. Experts say it can take up to 10 tries for a child to accept a new food.

What are you doing to not have your kids develop “grown-up” eating habits?

So, I ran across a news report (from Reuters) today about breastfeeding. My wife and I both agree that our first child’s outstanding health (we can only recount Ava having two colds in her first two years of life) can be directly attributed to many many months of breastfeeding.

So, for those other new moms or moms to be, here some new info about breastfeeding that has a direct affect and correlation to asthma (maybe). Let me summarize…

According to US researchers, breastfeeding seems to protect children from asthma later in life, but only when the mother does not have the respiratory disorder herself—that’s interesting to read. Researchers found that breastfeeding for more than four months helped improve lung function in children whose mothers did not have asthma. But breastfed children whose mothers had asthma did not benefit and actually showed a significant drop in lung function later in life.

The report went on to say that this “does not mean women with asthma should stop breastfeeding.” The researchers cautioned that the study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, was preliminary and the findings needed more study.

Dr. Theresa Guilbert of the University of Wisconsin-Madison wanted to see if longer breastfeeding—lasting four months or more—improved lung function in children. Guilbert and colleagues at the Arizona Respiratory Center analyzed data from the Children’s Respiratory Study in Tucson, which followed 1,246 healthy infants through adolescence. Of those, 697 had lung function tests from the ages of 11 to 16 that evaluated air flow and lung volume. For the most part, breastfed children with non-asthmatic mothers had better lung volume and no decrease in air flow. But children of mothers with asthma who were breastfed four months or more did not show any improvement. In fact, these children had a significant reduction in airflow. The reason, Guilbert suggested, may be altered lung growth.

She said breast milk may contain certain factors that promote lung development, factors that may be impaired in mothers with asthma. The report went onto to say that the clinical significance of the findings is unknown.

So, I don’t know if this matters to any of you or if it would stop you from breastfeeding. One day it’s reported eating eggs is bad for you, then the next day eating eggs is good for you. I just wanted to pass along the news and see if you moms had any thoughts.

So, I have a solution to what I’ll be given handing out this year: non-edibles. “What?,” you might be asking. Instead of nuts and nougat, I’ll have temporary tattoos, stickers, small tubes of Play-doh, bouncy balls, plastic vampire teeth, and other non-typical Halloween treats. I may get a frown from the goblins who visit my door, but the memory of ringing my doorbell will stick in their mind longer than my neighbor who gave out a mini Snicker’s bar. I also know there will be a couple of smiles and a “Cool!” every once and a while.

I challenge you to try an alternative Halloween treat this year. The cost may be a bit more than candy (Well, I’m not sure, because have you seen what a bag of candy costs these days? … Geez!). But, the reward will be great!

Have fun next week, and let me know if you hand out something other than candy.

Walt Disney Records has released a smorgasbord of music inspired by the movie that will leave everyone singing! There are 12 songs that are perfect for ages 5 and up… but I can attest that any child who likes music (even those younger than 5) will dance in circles, stomp their feet, and wave their hands in the air!

The CD is called “What’s Cooking: A Musical Tour of Tasty tales,” and the song titles are: Cheese Please, Saturday Night Fish Fry, Chez Paris, Taco Grande, Pizza Pizza Pizza, Shoe Fly Pie, One Meatball, Save The Bones For Henry Jones, French Fries, Hold Tight, Banana Split For My Baby, and Ma Maison.

The CD should cost about $13.

I’d check out your local music store for this CD that will have your kids (and you, too) shaking and baking together! It’s great exercise to dance.

My motto is: The family that dances together stays together!

If you haven’t read it, let me give you the highlights. I don’t want to give out the secrets of the three-part series. You really need to read it for yourself and learn… you could have your child read it too!

First, there’s Bon Appetit, which covers how to go about inviting your child into the kitchen to cook.

Next, there’s Home Cookin’, which tells how one mom discovers the joys of working side-by-side with her young chefs.

Finally, there’s A Colorful Palate. Celebrity chef Ellie Krieger talks about 8 ways to add “healthy” color to your meals.

I just love these types of articles. They all encourage healthy eating and promote family time. That means getting the entire family involved — mom, children and dad!

Have fun! 

The coffee roaster and distributor is Longbottom Coffee and Tea, which is located in Hillsboro, Oregon. They’re going to sponsor the first “Coffee Kids Week” from Oct. 8–13, 2007, with coffee donations. All proceeds from this event are going to be donated to Coffee Kids.

During Coffee Kids Week, Longbottom Coffee and Tea is donating Coffee Kids Blend and asking Longbottom Coffeehouse customers to donate five dollars ($5.00) for a 16-oz. bag of a great blend of Black Gold and premium Kenya AA beans. You can’t beat $5.00 for a 16-oz. bag of good coffee.

Longbottom Coffee and Tea already supports this organization by donating a portion of the money received from every pound of coffee sold. As the third largest Coffee Kids donor in the nation, Longbottom also makes additional donations to help support sustainability to coffee farmers that otherwise may not have economic stability and diversification. These farmers need a hand up, not a hand out—which is how Coffee Kids fosters stable, long-term success in the coffee growing communities.

For more information about Coffee Kids, go to http://www.coffeekids.org. For more information about Coffee Kids Week, you can also call the Longbottom Coffeehouse at (503) 924-4470.

The article gave several tips on “how to get out of a chicken fingers-and-fries rut and raise an adventurous eater:”

1. Take Control - the parent needs to play an active role in what’s for dinner
2. Cook with Your Child - never underestimate the value of getting your kids in the kitchen
3. Be a Role Model - you, the parent, need to eat diverse foods and lead by example
4. Bury Your Own Food Bias - don’t let your own food preferences keep you from introducing new veggies and other foods
5. Don’t Default to the Kid’s Menu - order from the adult side of the menu
6. Sit Down to Dinner - turn off the T.V.
7. Aim for Progress, Not Perfection - enhance your kids’ meal, like carrots instead of fries

I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to improve kids’ eating habits - probably some that you have proven to be successful. Let me know what you’ve done, and let all the readers of Kids Cuisine know.

Well, if you who want to upgrade for those kids who really want to start cooking, Sur La Table offers a few cool children’s cooking items. First is their “Kids Sous-Chef Baking Set.” Tucked inside a burlap tote, young bakers (ages 3 to 6) will find a rolling pin, three-piece wood spatula and spoon set, pastry brush, cookie sheet, four bear cookie cutters, springform pan with plain and tube cake bottoms, loaf pan, flan form, muffin, and cake pans ($24.95).

Next, there’s a “Kids’ Table and Chairs,” which is crafted of durable rubber wood to be perfectly pint-size. Spills wipe clean with a sponge. Chairs come assembled, but the table requires assembly. You can choose from table and chairs with red chairs for $99.96; or table and chairs with pink chairs for $69.49.

I’m sure there’s a Sur La Table close to where you live. Let me know what you think, or pass along other suggestions on where to find children’s kitchen play things.

Here’s a new, convenient way to order dinner: it’s called LiveOnTheGo (www.liveonthego.com).

A little bit about LiveOnTheGo — it’s a convenient, free online service that allows users to order and pay for take out food in advance via the Web, PDA, or cellular phone from favorite local restaurants and have it ready when they want it — with no waiting on the phone, no waiting in line, and no waiting to pay. The technology not only benefits the busy consumer, but also restaurant partners by streamlining their take out process to enhance their customer service, which will eventually increase customer loyalty allowing for increased revenue.

Today’s average family consists of two working parents with kids in multiple afterschool activities. It is getting harder and harder for a family to sit down for a meal. LiveOnTheGo is helping both the consumer—that’s you—and restaurant partners to provide family time with their easy online service. This is the wave of the future with more and more families active in their schools and communities.

Let me know what you think!